


It's Worth It

by roidadidou



Category: Super Science Friends (Cartoon)
Genre: Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-09 07:35:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15262536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roidadidou/pseuds/roidadidou
Summary: Being a father of six, Edison is offended by Tesla's intolerance of children.





	It's Worth It

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't really going for historical accuracy here. I'm completely wrong about the ages of his children in relation to each other and the blah blah blah whatnot such and such  
> But Super Science Friends doesn't always stick to historical accuracy, either. So it's fine.

The concept of learning to balance family and work was something that Nikola never needed to understand. His pigeons would simply fly away when he left, and be home when he returned. But his lack of knowledge on the subject of love, marriage, and children led to awkward situations that grew thick tension.  


The sound of livelier-than-usual chatter interrupted Tesla’s focus as he pressed buttons and flipped switches. He turned from his desk to see the floor’s other employees centered around Thomas and his friend, Henry Ford, who was giving out cigars with an excited hand.  


“What’s all the excitement for?” Nikola inquired innocently, refusing an offered cigar with a flat-palmed gesture. Henry finished lighting the other men’s cigars, and pulled his own out of his mouth.  


“My wife- Clara- she’s pregnant! I’m going to be a father!”  


Nikola stood in silence, accentuated by the impression that everyone around him was simply waiting for his response.  


“I, er-... Sorry about that.” Was all that came from him. Cigars went limp in many mouths. Henry pulled one side of his mouth tight, eyebrows lifting upwards. A weak “oof,” was heard from one of the men who was embarrassed on Nikola’s behalf. Nikola looked around at the group, brushed his coat straight, and headed back to his workbench.  


That wasn’t the first and only time that his ignorance of family matters had offended his coworkers. Thomas became especially tense towards his employee’s opinion of children. When he returned from taking care of his bedridden wife after the birth of their sixth child, Nikola had only passive statements to make about his lack of dedication to the current project.  


But Nikola was too good a man to fire; he worked from early in the morning to very late at night without prompt. He was educated far beyond his years. And he was quite the sucker - Thomas was able to easily manipulate him into doing extra work for no extra pay. There was only so much a man could take, however, and Thomas’s plot to ‘educate’ Nikola on the true nature of family life was a long time coming.  


The sudden ringing of Nikola’s telephone startled the small flock of pigeons that gathered around his window in the early morning. The man sighed, and begrudgingly answered.  


“Nikola! How are you doing?” Came the enthusiastic voice of his boss.  


“What do you need, Thomas?”  


“Ah, straight to the point. You’ve always trimmed the fat off of everything- if only I could, too! Ha!”  


Nikola sniffed.  


“Okay, I just need a favor, Nikola; I’m indisposed today, but I need those engine schematics you’ve just finished for my office. I need you to drop them off at my home.”  


“Not at your laboratory?”  


“No, no, I’m staying home today. You’ve got my address.”  


“I really can’t do that, Edison, I have important things-”  


“See you at noon!”  


The other end of the line clicked. The room was filled with pigeons cooing, and a single desperate sigh.  


A black Ford automobile sputtered and slowed to a stop in front of a large, brown house that was far beyond Tesla’s income. He exited his vehicle, holding a folder in one hand, while brushing his coat off with the other. He stood, awkwardly, on the paved sidewalk.  


Though he knew Thomas had children, he somehow hadn’t expected them to be here. Three boys were running and playing on the home’s green lawn, brandishing small tree branches as swords, or perhaps military rifles. Their chatter and laughter sat uncomfortably in Nikola’s ears as he continued to stand on the pavement.  


“Hey, Mister! What’re’ya doin’?” Nikola was startled by one of the boys, who had approached him. As he talked, a knuckle scratched the inside of his nose, then was wiped on his pants. The inventor’s mustache twitched.  


“I, uh- I’m looking for Thomas Edison.”  


The boy pointed at the house.  


“Daddy’s inside.”  


“I see. Er-... Thank you.” Instinctively, the man pulled his business card out of his jacket, handing it to the boy. The boy took it gingerly, confused as to what he was expected to do with the thing. He watched the man walk up the stone path to the front door.  


Edison saw Nikola through his window, and had the door open by the time his visitor got there.  


“Nikola! So good to see you!”  


“Yes, good-... I have the schematics for you.” Tesla handed Edison the envelope. His boss flipped through the papers, satisfied.  


“Very good! Why don’t you come in? Mina’s been dying to meet you.”  


“I’d rather not-”  


Edison ignored Tesla’s protest, briefly turning away to call to his wife.  


“Mina, why don’t you get some tea ready for Nikola?”  


Nikola felt his boss’s hand pull him inside by the arm. The door was shut behind him, figuratively trapping him. He was gestured to sit down on a beaten-up loveseat. Edison sat across from him in what was undoubtedly “his” armchair, designated to the man of the house.  


There were three other children scattered about the living room; a toddler sat on the floor, playing with wooden blocks, while two girls set down their dolls to look at the odd man in their house.  


“Who are you?” asked the younger one. Edison’s gaze told Tesla he would refuse to answer for him.  


“I-er, I'm an inventor. I work for your father.”  


“An inventor? What do you invent?” Asked the older one, without skipping a beat.  


“I'll have you know I patented the remote control,” Nikola replied with a sense of pride in his voice. The girl combed her fingers through her doll’s hair, childish attitude beginning to overtake her face.  


“Oh, that's strange. Daddy told us he made that.”  


Perhaps she was only starting trouble, or Edison had actually said that. Either way, Nikola shot his boss a glare of contempt. Edison chuckled.  


“Kids say the funniest things, don't they?”  


“Yes, funny.”  


Figurative scissors cut the banner of their tension as the door opened, and the three boys came inside with much noise and commotion. They kicked their shoes off and slammed the door behind them. They brushed the grass off of their clothes and out of their hair.  


“Done playing?” Edison inquired. His question wasn't answered; one of the boys ran straight towards him, and, as if rehearsed, Edison stood and lifted him into the air. He held him up by one arm and one leg, swinging him a bit before tossing him onto the couch next to Nikola. The boy's laughter was unceasing, yet the Serbian man was terrified.  


As Edison was holding another of his sons upside down, ignoring the boy's attempt to reach upward and grab at his father's hands, he spoke;  


“My God, Nikola, calm down! You look like I'm pitching fine china at the wall!”  


He lowered the boy to the ground, and remained standing.  


“Six?” Tesla managed to ask.  


“Yes, yes. Three from Mina, and three from Mary - bless her soul.” Indeed, it was easy to pick apart which children came from which wife, but all six of them bore a resemblance to their father. The boys, especially, with goofy grins on their faces that could only have descended from him.  


He looked around, pointing to each as he named them.  


“Dot, Dash, Charles, Theodore, Madeline, and…”  


He paused. He scratched his head, then counted on his fingers, trying to remember the one he missed.  


“William!” The boy on the couch answered, as he tossed and turned in the way that young boys do, until he laid his legs on Tesla’s lap. Tesla, at this point, felt it futile to object.  


“William! That's right.” Edison said with satisfaction. At that time, his wife came out from the kitchen with a tray of teacups and biscuits. One side of Tesla’s face cringed at the very obvious and very drastic age difference between the married couple. Edison gave her a thank-you, then cupped her chin with one hand as he placed a kiss on her cheek.  


“Is this the man you've been telling me about? The man who likes to feed birds?”  


“My hardest worker!” Replied the businessman as he looped an arm around his wife's waist.  


“You look much younger than he let on, Mr. Tesla.” Mina complimented. Nikola gave a weak-willed smile as one of his boss’s sons flung himself over the back of the couch, legs swaying behind him with enough strength to make the furniture wobble back and forth. He was absolutely stunned at Thomas and Mina’s ability to tune out the unceasing stream of noise that the children created.  


“Yes, well, I do try to stay healthy…”  


Edison suddenly smacked his forehead, his right eye drifting to the side momentarily.  


“Ah, that reminds me! It's about time for lunch, isn't it?”  


“Would you like me to set the table for Mr. Tesla?” His wife asked delicately.  


“Oh, of course! Join us for lunch, won't you, Nikola?-”  


His sentence was cut off by Tesla stammering and stuttering quickly as he stood.  


“No! I mean-... That's quite alright, thank you. I've got… I have places to be.” His feet shuffled himself towards the door, Edison watching with confusion and amusement as Tesla made some sort of attempt to hide the fact that he was escorting himself out.  


“If you say so, Nikola.” Edison’s normally strong voice was hindered by part of his brain being tasked with watching the awkward, lanky man practically walking backwards.  


Tesla’s hand hit the wall, and he turned, opening the door quickly and leaving it shut behind him.  


“What got into him?” Mina asked. Edison simply blinked and shook his head, not knowing how to answer.  


Nikola took a scalding hot bath that night, and couldn’t sleep. The next morning, he was an hour deep in his work when Edison arrived. He put his hat and coat on the rack, and turned to meet Tesla’s gaze.  


“How do you manage?” Tesla asked. Edison took the question as an opportunity to slump into a chair across from Tesla’s desk, his legs sprawled out straight in front of him. He ran a hand across his face.  


“God, I don’t know. Sometimes getting out of bed and coming to work is the part of the day that I look forward to.” He leaned forward in his seat, sighing.  


“If I may ask, then… Why have six? Why bother?”  


Edison had a rare look of solemnity on his face. He could be a serious man, of course, but Tesla had never seen him like this, with no humor in his tone of voice.  


“It… It’s worth it. You’re a man of science, Nikola, I can’t… Ever properly communicate to you what it’s like to be a father.”  


Nikola’s eyebrows wrinkled with puzzle on his face.  


“Let me try and explain it in your terms. You’ve nursed pigeons back to health before, haven’t you?”  


“Yes, I’ve spent a great deal of money and time on them.”  


“Exactly. You spend your money on them, you spend your time on them… And you’ve got some people that would never want to live like that. But there’s some sort of pride you feel when you accept the challenge… The challenge of taking care of these small, fragile lives that depend on you.” Edison spoke softly, carefully crafting his words in the hope that Tesla would understand just what he was trying to convey. He gesticulated with his hands as he talked, cupping them together as if he were holding one of Tesla’s aforementioned pigeons.  


“And you mess up, and you might get angry or sad, or regret something, but you keep working at it… And then, one day, you’re repaid for everything you’ve done for them when you see them go out into the world and live on their own.” He lifted his hands upward and splayed them flat, as if he were releasing the figurative bird.  


“And it’s worth it.” He finished, his gaze going back to his employee in front of him. Nikola was silent for a moment, thinking of an appropriate response.  


“You’re very passionate about this.” He eventually replied. Edison’s smile returned as he stood.  


“I am. I’m glad you understand.” He patted the other man’s shoulder as he passed him to head towards his office.  


“And I’ll leave you to _your_ passion.”


End file.
